Ethics: Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Timeshttps://www.arktimes.com/blogs/ArkansasBlog/
Daily News and Commentaryen-usCopyright 2019 Arkansas Times. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, Arkansas Times readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact Arkansas Times.editor@arktimes.com (Arkansas Times Editor)jordan@arktimes.com (Arkansas Times Webmaster)Mon, 21 Jan 2019 00:00:01 -0600Mon, 21 Jan 2019 17:00:00 -0600Foundationhttps://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rsshttps://www.arktimes.com/blogs/ArkansasBlog/
Ethics: Arkansas Blog, Arkansas TimesDaily Arkansas news, politics and entertainment. Featuring the state's most trusted blog, dining guides and dining reviews, movie times and more.https://www.arktimes.com/imager/b/rss/808579/e619/at_social_logo.png144144UPDATE: Senate's big party leads the freebie list this weekhttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/03/27/senates-big-party-leads-the-freebie-list-this-week
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/03/27/senates-big-party-leads-the-freebie-list-this-weekMax Brantley
<img src="https://media1.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/5810643/bigswill.jpg" width="600" height="387" />
<br>
The legislature is pushing toward adjournment, but that doesn't mean there's not time to work in some free drinks and eats. It's a big week, particularly for the Senate, where the lavish event celebrating Senate President Pro Temper Jonathan Dismang is on the card. <a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/03/16/big-ball-in-rocktown-to-fete-house-speaker-jeremy-gillam" target="_blank">The House has already had its regal celebration of Speaker Jeremy Gillam.</a><br>
<br>
On the agenda so far:<br>
<br>
<b> TUESDAY</b><br>
<br>
Reception, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Junior League Building. Marking the <b>Junior League's </b>95th anniversary.<br>
<br>
<b> WEDNESDAY</b><br>
<br>
Lunch, 11:30 a.m., location not announced, hosts are the <b>Associated General Contractors of Arkansas/Arkansas Asphalt Pavement Association/Arkansas Good Roads Foundation. </b>(The mood of this party could be affected by events today if there's an adverse vote on another try at passing a highway bond program backed by a fuel tax increase.)<br>
<br>
<b> THURSDAY</b><br>
<br>
Soiree, 6 p.m., Junior League Building, <b>dinner for Senate President Pro Tem Dismang.</b> Through legislation passed this session to further puncture holes in the ethics amendment, they've established a workaround to pay for such throw downs. The Arkansas Republican Party will be the host. Which special interests pony up the money to pay for it is a matter buried deep in political party financial reporting. Note that the ethics loopholes carved out for these events totally removes the ban on gifts at such events. Elon Musk could give a new car to everyone who attends, just so long as the swag bag for EVERY attendee includes a set of car keys.<br>
<br>
I'm checking for committee "special events," another ethics carve-out that has allowed high-dollar wining and dining to continue unabated for those who are members of the right power committees.<br>
<br>
UPDATE: There is one high-dollar committe dining event.<br>
<br>
TONIGHT<br>
<br>
Dinner, Sonny Williams, for the House Insurance and Commerce Committee by the Capitol Advisors Group. <br>
Arkansas PoliticsEthics
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Mon, 27 Mar 2017 07:42:00 -0500Arkansas TimesHouse passes campaign finance transparency billhttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/02/13/house-passes-campaign-finance-transparency-bill
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/02/13/house-passes-campaign-finance-transparency-billBenjamin Hardy
<img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4835174/rosa001.jpg" width="600" height="399" />
<br>
This afternoon, the House overwhelmingly approved <a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/02/01/bill-filed-to-shed-light-on-campaign-donations-by-requiring-searchable-electronic-reports" target="_blank">Rogers Republican Rep. Jana Della Rosa's bill</a> to shine sunlight into Arkansas campaign finance by requiring <b>online reporting </b>of monthly campaign contributions and expenditures. <br>
<br>
<a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/02/08/campaign-finance-transparency-bill-passes-committee-heads-to-house" target="_blank">House Bill 1427 passed out of committee last week on a voice vote</a>. It now heads to the Senate, where it may face a tougher fight.<br>
<br>
The vote count on the measure was 82-5, a stark departure from <a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/03/26/house-rejects-bill-to-require-transparency-in-campaign-finance-reports" target="_blank">the floor vote in the House in 2015</a> when Della Rosa's previous version of the bill was voted down amid legislators' dubious complaints that rural internet in some parts of the state was too slow to accommodate an online filing requirement.<br>
<br>
When introducing HB 1427 today, Della Rosa said the transparency bill "does one thing and one thing only ... it requires that candidates who file with the secretary of state file their campaign finance reports electronically instead of on paper." She noted that the state "just spent $670,000 taxpayer dollars" on building a new, improved online system which would benefit candidates. For the system to benefit the public, she said, candidates must be required to participate. "If we don't participate in the system as this bill requires, they will not get their usable, searchable database. ... They will get what they have now, which is a half a database, which is not worth anything." <br>
<br>
Currently, candidates may file online but most choose to file on paper. That makes it much more difficult to assemble a picture of who is donating to whom in Arkansas elections. Della Rosa's bill allows an exception for candidates to continue filing on paper if they sign a notarized affidavit declaring they don't have access to the necessary technology.<br>
Arkansas PoliticsEthics
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Mon, 13 Feb 2017 14:11:00 -0600Arkansas TimesBig Swill update: The committee dining schedulehttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/02/13/big-swill-update-the-committee-dining-schedule
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/02/13/big-swill-update-the-committee-dining-scheduleMax Brantley
<img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4835008/unnamed-1.jpg" width="600" height="387" />
<br>
In reporting earlier on free drinks and eats for the House and Senate this week, I didn't yet have in hand the reports on which legislative committees are in line this week for separate entertainment this week under the loophole created to allow lobbyist fetes when whole committees are invited.<br>
<br>
The House and Senate don't post these events, which are arranged through the legislative staff and were devised as another way for lobbyists to defy voters who thought they'd outlawed lobbyist wining and dining by a 2014 constitutional amendment. Voters got taken: Freebies continue for legislators who also scammed higher pay and longer terms in office through the Trojan horse amendment.<br>
<br>
Committee free feedbags this week:<br>
<br>
TODAY<br>
<b><br>
Senate and House City, County and Local Affairs Committees</b>, 6 p.m., Lost Forty Brewing. Hosts: Associated General Contractors, Arkansas Rural Water Association, Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association, Wright Lindsey and Jennings law firm, American Council of Engineering Companies of Arkansas, Arkansas Water and Wastewater Managers Association, Beaver Water District. Arranged by Robert Coon of Impact Management.<br>
<br>
WEDNESDAY<br>
<br>
<b>House Insurance and Commerce Committee</b>, 6 p.m. dinner at Trio's. Host: <b>DBH Management Consultants </b>(<b>Bruce Hawkins'</b> lobbying outfit). Arranged by Camie Boggess. Hawkins lists these clients:<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
Arkansas Ambulance Association<br>
Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police<br>
Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care<br>
Arkansas Home Builders Association<br>
Arkansas Vending Council<br>
Bernstein, Litowitz, Berger & Grossman, LLP<br>
Conway County Legal Beverage Association<br>
CVS Health<br>
Delta Dental of Arkansas<br>
Distilled Spirits Council of the United States<br>
Farm & Home Mutual Insurance Company<br>
Leads OnLine /Leads OnLabs<br>
Motorola Solutions, Inc.<br>
Petit Jean Meats<br>
Plains All American Pipeline, LP<br>
Reliance Health Care<br>
SAS<br>
Selected Funeral & Life Insurance Company<br>
Shelter Insurance<br>
Southern Pioneer Property & Casualty Insurance Company<br>
Southland Racing and Gaming<br>
United Home Insurance Company<br>
</blockquote>
<b>House Agriculture Committee</b>, dinner at the Butcher Block: Host: <b>Arkansas Farm Bureau.</b> Arranged by Michelle Kitchens.<br>
Arkansas PoliticsEthics
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Mon, 13 Feb 2017 10:27:00 -0600Arkansas TimesAs session action picks up, so do the free meals for legislators (and staff)https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/02/13/as-session-action-picks-up-so-do-the-free-meals-for-legislators-and-staff
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/02/13/as-session-action-picks-up-so-do-the-free-meals-for-legislators-and-staffMax Brantley
<img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4834813/unnamed-1.jpg" width="600" height="387" />
<br>
While I've been away we've been remiss in keeping up with the round of free meals and drinks being provided the legislature. Here's a partial listing of the hog slopping on tap this week, not including any possible committee hog slops arranged by the legislative staff and not posted routinely on the General Assembly webpages.<br>
<br>
From the House calendar:<br>
<br>
TODAY<br>
Reception, <b>Arkansas State Employees Association</b>, 5-7 p.m., Capitol Hill Apartment. House staff invited<br>
<br>
TUESDAY<br>
Reception, lobbying firm <b>Mullenix & Associates LLC</b>, 5:30-7 p.m., 501 Woodlane Avenue, 6th floor<br>
House staff invited.<br>
<br>
Lunch, A<b>rkansas Community Colleges,</b> 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., 1415 W. Third St.<br>
<br>
Breakfast, <b>Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission,</b> 7-9 a.m., Capitol Hill Apartments, House staff invited.<br>
<br>
WEDNESDAY<br>
Reception, <b>Arkadelphia Regional Economic Development Alliance</b>, 5-7 p.m., Next Level Events, House staff invited.<br>
<br>
Lunch,<b> Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance,</b> 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Capitol Hill Building, House staff invited.<br>
<br>
THURSDAY<br>
Reception,<b> Arkansas Bar Association</b>, 4:45-6:45 p.m., Marriott Hotel.<br>
<br>
Lunch, <b>Arkansas Center for Health Improvement,</b> 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m, Capitol Hill Apartments.<br>
<br>
The Senate calendar lists most of the events above, plus this:<br>
<br>
TUESDAY<br>
Lunch, <b>American Association of University Women, League of Women Voters, National Association of University Women, Arkansas Literacy Councils, Women's Foundation of Arkansas, Arkansas Association of Women Lawyers-Bowen Chapter, The Birthing Project and Zonta of Fort Smith</b>.\, noon, Capitol Cafeteria.<br>
<br>
Voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2014 to outlaw lobbyist wining and dining, but the legislator wrote loopholes for events to which all legislators are invited. And legislative leaders have decreed that these "meetings" of the legislature are NOT open to the public, though legislative staff can sometimes be included.<br>
<br>
This session,<b> House Speaker Jeremy Gillam </b>is pushing further erosion of the ethics amendment to expand special interest-provided travel opportunities, including to foreign countries.<br>
Arkansas PoliticsEthics
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Mon, 13 Feb 2017 07:39:00 -0600Arkansas TimesEthics complaint against Sen. David Wallace dismissedhttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/01/23/ethics-complaint-against-sen-david-wallace-dismissed
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/01/23/ethics-complaint-against-sen-david-wallace-dismissedDavid Ramsey
<img src="https://media1.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4804079/dave_wallace.jpg" width="150" height="210" style="display:block; float:right;" />
Missed this amidst the inauguration hullabaloo: the <b>Arkansas Ethics Commission</b> on Friday dismissed a complaint against Republican state <b>Sen. David Wallace</b> over Wallace's loans to his campaign. Wallace, then a state rep, defeated <b>Sen. David Burnett</b>, the Democratic incumbent, last November. Wallace, who does disaster cleanup work for the federal government, loaned his campaign around $130,000 (he still owes himself nearly $95,000 <a href="http://www.sos.arkansas.gov/filing_search/index.php/filing/save_pdf/181553" target="_blank">according to his latest campaign finance filing</a>). The Democratic Party raised suspicions during the campaign about whether he was using an unreported line of credit; when asked, <a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/09/29/sen-burnett-amends-campaign-report" target="_blank">Wallace told the Arkansas Blog in September </a>that he had taken out no loans for his campaign and that all loans to the campaign were from personal funds. <br>
<br>
A volunteer for Burnett's campaign filed an ethics complaint alleging that Wallace had failed to properly disclose campaign contributions or lines of credit, using the personal loan as cover. The Ethics Commission dismissed the claim Friday. <a href="http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2017/jan/21/ethics-complaint-on-senator-tossed-2017/?f=news-politics" target="_blank">Director Graham Sloan told the D-G</a> that the commission found that Wallace's loans were indeed from his personal funds and that there was no evidence that they came from a line of credit with a financial institution. <br>
<br>
Meanwhile, an ethics complaint is still pending against Burnett <a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/09/29/sen-burnett-amends-campaign-report" target="_blank">over illegally accepting more than $5,000 from corporate contributors</a>, now prohibited by a constitutional amendment. Burnett amended his filings and returned the money, saying the contributions were oversights. Under the get-our-jail-free rule adopted by the legislature, lawmakers may correct illegalities without penalty, so Burnett is likely in the clear despite initially receiving contributions in violation of the law. <br>
Arkansas PoliticsEthics
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Mon, 23 Jan 2017 09:37:00 -0600Arkansas TimesFederal lawsuit filed over ethics concerns alleges that Donald Trump is violating the Constitutionhttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/01/23/federal-lawsuit-filed-over-ethics-concerns-alleges-that-donald-trump-is-violating-the-constitution
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/01/23/federal-lawsuit-filed-over-ethics-concerns-alleges-that-donald-trump-is-violating-the-constitutionDavid Ramsey
<img src="https://media1.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4804083/trump_flicker_face_yess.jpg" width="600" height="399" />
<br>
Speaking of Trump and ethics, a high-powered legal team of constitutional and ethical experts is filing a federal lawsuit today to “to stop President Trump from violating the Constitution by illegally receiving payments from foreign governments.”<br>
<br>
The lawsuit comes in response to Trump's refusal to divest or place his businesses in a blind trust. Instead, Trump has said he will turn over control of his various business interests to his adult sons (<a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/01/23/more-broken-promises-donald-trump-has-not-relinquished-control-of-businesses#readerComments" target="_blank">though there's no evidence that he has even done that yet</a>). The potential for conflicts of interest and corruption appears to be massive, precisely the sort of mess that certain provisions in the U.S. Constitution were meant to avoid. <br>
<br>
“We did not want to get to this point," said Noah Bookbinder, executive director of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), the Washington-based nonprofit filing the lawsuit, <a href="http://www.citizensforethics.org/press-release/crew-sues-trump-emoluments/" target="_blank">in a press release</a>. "It was our hope that President Trump would take the necessary steps to avoid violating the Constitution before he took office. He did not. His constitutional violations are immediate and serious, so we were forced to take legal action.”<br>
<br>
The lawsuit alleges that Trump is in violation of the foreign emoluments clause of the Constitution, which prohibits the president from receiving payments or gifts "of any kind whatever, from any...foreign State” without the approval of Congress. CREW says that Trump's various business interests are in violation of the emoluments clause with respect to payments for hotels, golf courses, leases in his buildings, and real estate deals, as well as loans from banks controlled by foreign governments. Team Trump says everything is legal and above board, nothing to see here (son Eric <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/22/us/politics/trump-foreign-payments-constitution-lawsuit.html" target="_blank">told the New York Times</a>, "This is purely harassment for political gain, and, frankly, I find it very, very sad"). <br>
<br>
Worth noting that Trump's tax returns could be material to the lawsuit. Trump directly lied numerous times to the American people during the campaign, promising that he would release his tax returns — as presidential candidates from both major parties have for decades as a matter of transparency — after a supposed audit was completed. A Trump staffer finally admitted yesterday that this was all a ruse and Trump has no intention of ever releasing the tax returns. Theoretically, a lawsuit like this could force Trump to turn over his tax returns in discovery, making public whatever it is he is so desperate to hide. (Before we even get that far, however, I'd expect Trump's gaggle of lawyers to dispute CREW's standing to sue. This year will be interesting.) <br>
<br>
CREW's team includes a Harvard constitutional scholar, ethics lawyers from the Obama and Bush administration, a star Supreme Court litigator and others. <br>
<br>
More from their press release: <br>
<br>
<blockquote>
Since Trump refused to divest from his businesses, he is now getting cash and favors from foreign governments, through guests and events at his hotels, leases in his buildings, and valuable real estate deals abroad. Trump does business with countries like China, India, Indonesia and the Philippines, and now that he is President, his company’s acceptance of any benefits from the governments of those countries violates the Constitution. When Trump the president sits down to negotiate trade deals with these countries, the American people will have no way of knowing whether he will also be thinking about the profits of Trump the businessman.<br>
<br>
“President Trump has made his slogan ‘America First,’” said Bookbinder. “So you would think he would want to strictly follow the Constitution’s foreign emoluments clause, since it was written to ensure our government officials are thinking of Americans first, and not foreign governments.”
</blockquote>
<br>
Ethics
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Mon, 23 Jan 2017 07:31:00 -0600Arkansas TimesMore broken promises: Donald Trump has not relinquished control of businesseshttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/01/23/more-broken-promises-donald-trump-has-not-relinquished-control-of-businesses
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/01/23/more-broken-promises-donald-trump-has-not-relinquished-control-of-businessesDavid Ramsey
<img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4804084/donald_trumppeace.jpg" width="600" height="400" />
<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-promised-to-resign-from-his-companies-but-no-record-hes-done-so" target="_blank"><br>
Great report from Pro Publica</a> on President Donald Trump's promise earlier this month to relinquish control of his companies by the inauguration. He has not done so. <br>
<br>
You might remember the news conference where Trump appeared with giant stacks of papers in manila envelopes where he claimed were documents that gave "complete and total control" to his sons (journalists were not allowed to view the paperwork, leading to speculation that they were props rather than actual relevant documentation). <br>
<br>
Pro Publica contacted officials in Florida, Delaware, and New York, where Trump would have had to file documents to place his companies in a family trust. Hasn't happened. No one from Team Trump would comment to Pro Publica. <br>
<br>
Trump has shown a consistent, public, well-documented pattern of making promises and then backing out of them, habitually lying, and simply making things up. If he's actually going to keep his promise on this matter, there will be a verifiable and public paper trail. Otherwise, this appears to be a typical stunt, reliant on "alternative facts" (or in non-Orwellian terms: fiction). <br>
<br>
Even if he does follow through, this will do almost nothing alleviate concerns about conflicts of interest. He still refuses to divest; his plan would keep family control of the businesses; there would still no transparency whatsoever about the scope of his assets, entanglements, potential conflicts, etc.; there would be no transparency about the terms of the trust; there is no evidence of clear rules or ethical standards to keep Trump insulated from the business or potential conflicts. It's a sham. But in typical Trump fashion, thus far there is no evidence that Trump has even bothered to follow through with his promise to make the barest of efforts at the appearance of separation. He is in power and seems to believe that the rules do not apply him. It shows an utter contempt for the people he ostensibly serves. His promises aren't worth a stack of blank pages stuffed into manila folders. <br>
<br>
Pro Publica will continue to seek documentation to verify whether Trump ever follows through. <br>
Ethics
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Mon, 23 Jan 2017 06:28:00 -0600Arkansas TimesBig swill in big chamber tent today for legislators. Working stiffs not welcome.https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/01/17/big-swill-in-big-chamber-tent-today-for-legislators-working-stiffs-not-welcome
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/01/17/big-swill-in-big-chamber-tent-today-for-legislators-working-stiffs-not-welcomeMax Brantley
<img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4793974/unnamed-1.jpg" width="600" height="387" />
<br>
The <b>Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce</b> is laying on a free spread for legislators under a big tent at chamber headquarters from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. today outside the chamber office at 1200 W. Capitol Avenue.<br>
<br>
The leaders of the legislature have decreed that such meetings of the General Assembly don't qualify as public meetings under the Arkansas Constitution but no reason you can't look from a public sidewalk across the street. If you spot your own legislator, ask them to run you out a snack.<br>
<br>
Under the tent, they'll be talking about passing out taxpayer-financed "incentives" or subsidies to noble private businesses and figuring out ways to deprive welfare deadbeats of health care, food stamps and such. Which reminds me of this Martin Luther King Jr. quote that circulated on the web yesterday:<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
Whenever the government provides opportunities and privileges for white people and rich people they call it ‘subsidies.’ When they do it for Negro and poor people they call it ‘welfare.’ The fact is that everybody in this country lives on welfare. Suburbia was built with federally subsidized credit. And highways that take our white brothers out to the suburbs were built with federally subsidized money to the tune of ninety percent. Everybody is on welfare in this country. The problem is that we all too often have socialism for the rich and rugged free enterprise capitalism for the poor. That’s the problem.
</blockquote>
<br>
Arkansas PoliticsEthics
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Tue, 17 Jan 2017 10:35:00 -0600Arkansas TimesState Rep. Micah Neal pleads guilty to taking kickbacks from government grantshttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/01/04/former-legislator-micah-neal-pleads-guilty-taking-kickbacks-from-government-grants
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/01/04/former-legislator-micah-neal-pleads-guilty-taking-kickbacks-from-government-grantsMax Brantley
<img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4771504/mcneal-micah.jpg" width="175" height="229" style="display:block; float:right;" />
<b>Micah Neal,</b> a Republican state representative from Springdale who abruptly dropped out of a race for Washington County judge last summer for "family and business" reasons, pleaded guilty in federal court today to taking $38,000 kickbacks from $600,000 in state grants to two nonprofit entities in Northwest Arkansas.<br>
<br>
Documents related to the case reference a senator, lobbyist, consultant and nonprofit leaders, among others, as having a part in the kickback scheme, but none is named nor charged. Presumably further activity is likely. I have a question in to U.S. Attorney Kenneth Elser in Fort Smith on that point. <br>
UPDATE: His office said he'd have no comment beyond the press release.<br>
<br>
<a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/arkansas-state-representative-pleads-guilty-bribe-conspiracy" target="_blank">Justice Department news release here.<br>
<br></a>
<blockquote>
As part of his guilty plea, Neal admitted that, between January 2013 and January 2015, while serving in the Arkansas House of Representatives, he conspired with an Arkansas state senator to use their official positions to appropriate government money known as General Improvement Funds (GIF) to a pair of non-profit entities in exchange for bribes. Specifically, Neal and the senator authorized and directed the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District, which was responsible for disbursing the GIF, to award a total of $600,000 in GIF money to the two non-profit entities. Of the $600,000, Neal personally authorized and directed a total of $175,000 to the entities. In return for his official actions, Neal received approximately $38,000 in bribes from officials at those non-profit entities.
</blockquote>
<br>
Sentencing will come later. The maximum penalty is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, but a first offender wouldn't be likely to receive that and Neal, 42, will get consideration for entering a negotiated plea and waiver of indictment. He has agreed to make restitution and to cooperate with the government. The government agrees to seek no more than sentencing guidelines for a sentence and to take his cooperation in to account. Neal signed a $10,000 unsecured bond to insure future court appearances. Neal appeared before Judge Timothy Brooks.<br>
<br>
[pdf-1]<br>
Correction: I incorrectly referred in original post to Neal as a former legislator. Though he didn't seek re-election, he serves through Jan. 9.<br>
<br>
Neal, whose family owns Neal's Cafe, had said he decided to leave the legislature to bring his state experience back to the county level. But then he quit the race for county judge after winning the Republican nomination, which set off a legal squabble over whether the Republicans could field another candidate to face Democrat Mark Kinion. The party prevailed and their chosen nominee, Joseph Wood, a top deputy to Republican Secretary of State Mark Martin, won the race over, among others, then<b>-Sen. Jon Woods</b> of Springdale. Woods was another Republican legislator who decided not to seek re-election in 2016, citing a desire to start a "new chapter in his life." Woods served three terms in the House. His Senate term ends next week. I've written and called him to ask whether he's the senator referenced here.<br>
<br>
Legal action had been expected for some time related to a<a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/12/23/dumas-revisits-the-state-pork-barrel-now-helping-bible-colleges-among-other-local-projects" target="_blank"> harsh audit of the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District</a> and how it spent money funneled to it by the legislature. The audit questioned many of the expenditures made by the agency, those expenditures typically done at the direction of area legislators. Particularly curious was more than $500,000 given to build a building at<b> Ecclesia College,</b> a tiny Bible college in Springdale. Some repayment to a Missouri wholesale grocer also drew the auditors' attention.<br>
<br>
UPDATE: The criminal information in the case provides further details on the unnamed senator and where the money went:<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
Senator A has served as a Senator in the Arkansas Senate from 2013 to the present. Prior to his service in the Arkansas Senate, Senator A served as a Representative in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2007 until 2012.<br>
<br>
Entity A was a non-profit corporation, with an address in the Western District of Arkansas, Fayetteville Division, that purportedly sought to create manufacturing jobs in northwest Arkansas, specifically for a specialized workforce including disabled veterans, disadvantaged youth, and individuals recovering from substance abuse.<br>
<br>
Entity B was a non-profit corporation operating a college located in Springdale, Arkansas, in the Western District of Arkansas. <br>
...<br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: 1.1em;">At all times relevant to this Information, NEAL and Senator A, acting in their </span><span style="font-size: 1.1em;">official capacity as members of the Arkansas General Assembly, directed, authorized, and </span><span style="font-size: 1.1em;">approved the award of GIF grants by the NW AEDD to eligible organizations or entities.</span>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Likewise, the NW AEDD awarded GIF grants from GIF money appropriated by NEAL and Senator A only at the direction of, and with the approval and authorization of, NEAL and Senator A.
</blockquote>
Neal's plea agreement gives more hints at an investigation that covers a lobbyist, a consultant and representatives of the nonprofits:<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
Entity A was a non-profit corporation, with an address in the Western District of Arkansas, Fayetteville Division, that purportedly sought to create manufacturing jobs in northwest Arkansas, specifically for a specialized workforce including disabled veterans, disadvantaged youth, and individuals recovering from substance abuse. Entity A was associated with "Entity A-1 ," which was a healthcare provider with facilities in the Western District of Arkansas and elsewhere.<br>
<br>
Person A was the incorporator, registered agent, and a member of the board of directors for Entity A. Person A was also a high-ranking executive with Entity A-1.<br>
<br>
Person A also worked as a licensed lobbyist in the State of Arkansas.<br>
<br>
Entity B was a non-profit corporation operating a college located in Springdale, Arkansas, in the Western District of Arkansas.<br>
<br>
Person B was the president of Entity B and a friend of Senator A.<br>
<br>
Person C was the incorporator and sole member of a limited liability corporation incorporated in the State of Arkansas that purportedly provides consulting services.<br>
<br>
Person C also was a friend of Senator A and Person B.
</blockquote>
The recitation of events in Neal's plea agreement details the sponsorship of GIF, or surplus spending, by Neal and the senator. It said money steered to the development district was spent as they directed. The plea agreement details a paper trail of messages from Neal and the senator directing how the money was to be allocated. It said:<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
In 2013, Senator A advised NEAL that if NEAL, as an Arkansas Representative, authorized and directed GIF money to Entity A, then Person A would pay NEAL a portion of the money in exchange for NEAL's official action.
</blockquote>
Neal said, for example, that he received $20,000 in cash from the senator in return for joining in distribution of $400,000 to Entity A. A similar procedure was outlined for Entity B to receive $200,000. In that case, Entity B sent $65,000 to Person C's company. Person C paid Neal $18,000 in cash, his plea agreement says. The agreement continues:<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
The preceding summary is made for the purpose of providing the Court with a factual basis for NEAL' s guilty plea. The facts set forth in this summary are supported by witness statements, emails, bank records, and other documentary evidence. The preceding summary does not include all of the facts known to NEAL concerning criminal activity in which he or others engaged, nor does it contain all of the facts that the government could prove in a trial against NEAL.
</blockquote>
<br>
I'm seeking a comment from Neal, but have received no response. Tipped that Neal's plea was expected today, I checked Neal's Twitter account this moring. He's been posting message such as these the last few hours.<br>
<br>
<br>
Some irony in the information revealed here. Former legislator <b>Mike Wilson </b>sued over what he saw as unconstitutional local legislation in passing out state surplus to local development districts to be spent at the direction of legislators. Judge Chris Piazza didn't think Wilson had proved his case in targeting only the Central Arkansas Planning and Development District. Looks like at least one legislator has fessed up now to the direct control Wilson alleged. But a constitutional amendment devised by Sen. Jon Woods was passed in November that legalizes giving tax money to private entities such as was done here. I don't think teh amendment legalized kickbacks, however.<br>
<br>
Asked about the news at a session with reporters Wednesday afternoon, <b>Gov. Asa Hutchinson </b>called it "troubling." I'd noted previously that he has vowed to end the General Improvement Fund dispensation of surplus money for legislators to spend as they choose on local beneficiaries.<br>
<br>
I should add that the Capitol corridors are buzzing with speculation that this investigation, in addition to holding likely implications for unnamed parties in the Neal plea agreement, could involve other legislators and lobbyists. Talk has grown in recent times of the rising number of legislators with consulting businesses and what exactly those consulting businesses entailed.<br>
Arkansas PoliticsCrimeEthics
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Wed, 04 Jan 2017 12:38:00 -0600Arkansas TimesArkansas's toothless ethics law: Example, Mark Loweryhttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/11/16/arkansass-toothless-ethics-law-example-mark-lowery
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/11/16/arkansass-toothless-ethics-law-example-mark-loweryMax Brantley
<img src="https://media1.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4709384/unknown.jpeg" width="225" height="225" style="display:block; float:right;" />
<a href="http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/nov/16/150-fine-levied-on-legislator-20161116-1/" target="_blank">The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Michael Wickline reported this morning</a> that, for the second time in four years, <b>Republican Rep. Mark Lowery </b>had been cited by the state Ethics Commission for failing to comply with campaign finance reporting law.<br>
<br>
Lowery this year agreed — the day after he was re-elected —to a $150 fine and a letter of caution for failure to file seven monthly reports on time.<br>
<br>
Got it? A repeat ethics offender can commit serial violations in a new cycle, wait until after the election, pay $150 and all is forgiven, with a "caution." He also is allowed to say he didn't know better and that complaints about his failure to follow the law were being used as a "political weapon." How terribly unfair to cite public official misconduct in a political race!<br>
<br>
Lowery's belief that these were "administrative" errors is not credible, particularly on top of past violation. <br>
<br>
Lowery made so many "administrative" mistakes over an extended period that he couldn't avail himself of the get-out-of-jail free card that legislators wrote into the laughable ethics law. With it, legislators can "correct" errors within 30 days after they are called to their attention.<br>
<br>
Some complaints are pending against other scofflaws. In time, they'll receive slaps on the wrist and the world will move on. Until there are meaningful penalties for ethics violations, legislators need not worry about them too much, particularly since the Ethics Commission rarely initiates investigations, but mostly acts on outside complaints.( You know: People with a political axe to grind.) In one-party Arkansas, with an Ethics Commission controlled by that party, it becomes even less likely a politician will face consequences for ethical misconduct.<br>
<br>
Lowery hasn't filed his final campaign report yet, by the way. His 10-day pre-election report showed a cumulative $41,000 in contributions for the whole race, but the month covered gives you a flavor of the grassroots he serves. Itemized contributions:<br>
<br>
<br>
The late primary reports were similarly larded with money from corporate PACs. You know, had the information been available in a timely fashion, somebody might have tried to make political hay of that.<br>
Arkansas ElectionsArkansas PoliticsEthics
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Wed, 16 Nov 2016 07:26:00 -0600Arkansas TimesVice.com, on the shady, backdoor methods states are using to obtain execution drugshttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/08/02/vicecom-on-the-shady-backdoor-methods-states-are-using-to-obtain-execution-drugs
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/08/02/vicecom-on-the-shady-backdoor-methods-states-are-using-to-obtain-execution-drugsDavid Koon
Last week, <a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/07/26/ap-report-pfizer-subsidiary-appears-to-have-made-states-secret-execution-drug" target="_blank">the Associated Press issued a new report </a>about Arkansas's search for <b>drugs to be used for lethal injection, </b>coming to the conclusion that the supply of double-secret death drugs recently obtained by the Arkansas Department of Correction likely came from a subsidiary of Pfizer. In a nod to the increasing difficulty of finding and buying drugs to legally kill people on purpose, the legislature passed a law last year that made all information about where and how the state gets their execution drugs secret. <br>
<br>
For the long answer on why — and the dicey lengths states will go to in order to keep the machinery of death running — read this new report from Vice.com, <a href="http://www.vice.com/en_au/read/the-sordid-ways-death-penalty-states-obtain-execution-drugs" target="_blank">"The Sordid Ways Death-Penalty States Obtain Execution Drugs."</a> The report includes details of Alabama officials visiting every compounding pharmacy in the state unsuccessfully trying to cajole pharmacists into mixing them up a little sumpin' for their execution chamber, and Texas, Arizona and Nebraska paying $80,000 to a businessman to try and retrieve a supply of sodium thiopental from India, which was later confiscated by the FDA. <br>
Ethics
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Tue, 02 Aug 2016 14:03:00 -0500Arkansas TimesMatt Campbell files ethics complaint against nursing home lobbyhttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/07/18/matt-campbell-files-ethics-complaint-against-nursing-home-lobby
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/07/18/matt-campbell-files-ethics-complaint-against-nursing-home-lobbyMax Brantley
<img src="https://media1.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4497441/arkansas_reporter2-1.jpg" width="600" height="400" />
<b><br>
Matt Campbell, </b>the Little Rock lawyer and author of the <a href="http://www.bluehogreport.com/" target="_blank">Blue Hog Report</a> blog, has filed an ethics complaint today against the <b>Arkansas Health Care Association</b> related to the nursing home lobby group's spending on a proposed <b>constitutional amendment</b> aimed at <b>discouraging lawsuits against nursing homes</b> and others for negligence and abuse.<br>
<br>
A committee, <b>Health Care Access for Arkansans,</b> has been formed to pass an amendment to limit non-economic damages in a lawsuit for nursing home abuse, medical malpractice and the like to $250,000, with attorney fees capped at a third of the damage award.<br>
<br>
The committee has raised about $606,000 so far, most spent to pay canvassers to gather petition signatures, now undergoing certification by the secretary of state. The Arkansas Health Care Association contributed $330,000 and <b>Michael Morton,</b> the Fort Smith nursing home owner enmeshed in a scandal over alleged bribery of a judge in a nursing home lawsuit, has contributed $125,000 through various corporate entities. With a few small exceptions, other nursing home entities kicked in the rest.<br>
<br>
Campbell contends that because the nursing home lobby has contributed more than 2 percent of its annual revenues — $2.2 million to $2.25 million each of the last three years — to another ballot access committee, the law requires it to file as a ballot question committee itself. It, too, he argues must file the requisite information about revenues and expenditures required of ballot access committees. The law is aimed, presumably, at preventing using ballot access committees as a way to shield information about major sources of money. <br>
<br>
Normally, the Ethics Commission would have 60 days to respond. But Campbell has asked for an expedited review because ...<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
... if the matter is not expedited, it is entirely possible that the general election might have passed before a resolution is reached in this matter, and the people of Arkansas will have bee completely deprived of their right to know who is funding AHCA's support of Health Care Access for Arkansans' efforts. AHCA's lack of transparency should not be rewarded simply because of the standard timeframe for this Commission's procedures, given that good cause exists for this Commission to expedite the matter and resolve it much more quickly.<br>
</blockquote>
I've left phone and e-mail messages for <b>Rachel Davis,</b> the head of the Health Care Association, for response.<br>
<br>
At this point, it is safe to say nursing home money is carrying the ball for the amendment. Whether Morton himself has contributed still more through the Association would be interesting, but not alter the essential dynamics — nursing homes are attempting to put a cap on the value of a human life in a nursing home at $250,000 and insure that a lawyer that sued for mistreatment would be sorely limited in recovery in lawsuits that sometimes take years to resolve. The bribery case involving Mike Maggio saw the then-judge reduce a $5.2 million verdict against one of Morton's homes to $1 million. Morton has not been formally accused, but he supplied the campaign contributions that a middle man, Gilbert Baker, that Maggio said in a federal plea agreement influenced him to reduce the judgment. He's attempting to withdraw that plea. Matt Campbell did groundbreaking work that raised questions about the scheme used to funnel nursing home money to Maggio, plotting that also sent money to other judicial candidates, notably Supreme Court Justice Rhonda Wood. He has also pursued other complaints that led to, among others, the resignation of <b>Lt. Gov. Mark Darr.</b><br>
<br>
Should the amendment make the ballot, most expect doctors and hospital groups to join in raising money to push the amendment, which will be pitched as an attack on greedy attorneys. It will be more of an attack, however, on injured people, particularly children and the elderly. They typically can prove little by the way of economic damages (loss of wages, for example) and thus be extremely limited in suing over gross abuse or the likes, say, of wrong-side brain surgery.<br>
<br>
[pdf-1]<br>
Because of past legislative successes, Arkansas nursing homes, which depend mostly on Medicaid financing, are virtually guaranteed a profit in the reimbursement formula, though a lawsuit can complicate matters, despite means taken by homes to insulate themselves in corporate structure and various insurance strategies. Should the day come when damage lawsuits could produce little against nursing homes in Arkansas, the properties could become even more valuable for purchase by nationwide chains.<br>
<br>
Campbell's complaint drew supporting fire from a group formed to oppose the amendment:<br>
<br>
Statement from Martha Deaver, Committee to Protect AR Families:<br>
<br>
“It is clear that the so-called Health Care Access for Arkansans is actually an organization bought-and-paid for through the nursing home industry’s dark money machine to increase nursing home profits. It was just a matter of time before people started to connect the dots behind this organization created to push a constitutional amendment that would give nursing homes a free pass to abuse and neglect the elderly. I look forward to the Ethics Commission’s attention and speedy response to this matter.” <br>
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Mon, 18 Jul 2016 15:54:00 -0500Arkansas TimesKemp campaign responds to Blue Hog Report's judicial discipline complainthttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/26/kemp-campaign-responds-to-blue-hog-reports-judicial-discipline-complaint
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/26/kemp-campaign-responds-to-blue-hog-reports-judicial-discipline-complaintBenjamin Hardy
<img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4301288/kemp.jpg" width="600" height="505" />
<b><br>
Circuit Judge Dan Kemp's</b> campaign issued a response yesterday to <a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/25/blue-hog-report-pursues-judicial-discipline-complaint-over-judge-kemps-non-recusal" target="_blank">the judicial discipline complaint</a> made by <b>Blue Hog Report blogger Matt Campbell. </b>Kemp is running for chief justice of <b>the Arkansas Supreme Court:</b><br>
<br>
<blockquote>
We are five days from Election Day and Arkansans are already casting their ballots for Judge Kemp. Sadly, this is just a cheap political stunt propped up by supporters of our opponent to try and alter our growing momentum as a campaign. We have great trust that voters will see this desperate attack for what it is. The facts are simple, Judge Kemp is not involved in the fundraising aspects of this campaign. Furthermore, the plea agreement in question was negotiated and agreed to by the prosecutor, not the judge, back in 2014 – practically a year prior to the Judge’s decision to run in this race. Simply put, any attempt to prove an inkling of wrongdoing on behalf of Judge Kemp in this matter is futile, because it just isn’t true.
</blockquote>
<br>
The crux of Campbell's complaint is that Kemp, in a criminal drug-related case last year involving <b>Lea Ann Finn,</b> the daughter of a longtime friend of his, approved a guilty plea in exchange for dismissal of felony charges against Finn. Soon thereafter, Finn's parents each donated $2,500 to Kemp's campaign. Campbell states that this at least gives the "appearance of impropriety regarding the timing of the contributions." In a follow up post, he said Finn had had multiple prior DWI and drug-related convictions, contrary to an earlier statement from Kemp's campaign.<br>
<br>
Campbell's posts (<a href="http://www.bluehogreport.com/2016/02/21/trading-felonies-for-campaign-cash-a-look-at-dan-kemps-ethics/" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.bluehogreport.com/2016/02/24/impropriety-and-the-appearance-thereof-a-follow-up-on-judge-dan-kemp/" target="_blank">here</a>) have sparked ample discussion from the state's legal community, in large part because this race is so politically and emotionally charged. Several have pointed out that the prosecutor in the case would have been responsible for negotiating the plea deal, as Kemp's statement above states. <br>
<br>
To that end, here's a statement from the prosecutor in the Lea Ann Finn case,<b> Drew Smith, </b>provided by Kemp campaign manager Erin Brogdon (who is also his daughter):<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
"At the time of the defendant’s arrest and during the negotiation of the plea agreement she had no felony history. NCIC, the system our office relies on for criminal history, showed no prior felony convictions. As is customary, it is the prosecutor’s responsibility to consider and negotiate plea deals, not the judge. This plea was negotiated one year prior to Judge Kemp running for Chief Justice.” <br>
<br>
–Drew Smith prosecutor in the 16th Judicial District
</blockquote>
<br>
<a href="http://www.bluehogreport.com/2016/02/24/impropriety-and-the-appearance-thereof-a-follow-up-on-judge-dan-kemp/" target="_blank">In Campbell's most recent post,</a> he says the fact that the prosecutor is responsible for negotiating a plea wouldn't have absolved Kemp of these allegations of impropriety.<br>
<br>
Kemp's opponent in the chief justice race is <b>Associate Justice Courtney Goodson.</b><br>
Arkansas CourtsArkansas ElectionsEthics
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Fri, 26 Feb 2016 07:04:00 -0600Arkansas TimesShawn Womack missing campaign donor list from first judicial electionhttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/26/shawn-womack-missing-campaign-donor-list-from-first-judicial-election
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/26/shawn-womack-missing-campaign-donor-list-from-first-judicial-electionBenjamin Hardy
<img src="https://media1.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4300865/womack.jpg" width="250" height="375" style="display:block; float:right;" />
<b>Circuit Judge Shawn Womack,</b> the candidate for associate justice of the <b>state Supreme Court</b>, does not have records on file with the Arkansas Secretary of State's office itemizing some 45 percent of his total campaign contributions for a previous judicial race.<br>
<br>
Womack first ran for the circuit judge seat in the 14th Judicial District in 2008 after serving ten years in the state legislature (first in the House, then in the Senate). He had two opponents in the race, Harrison attorney Gail Campbell and Yellville attorney Chris Carter. Womack secured a plurality of the vote in the spring judicial election, sending the contest to a runoff that November between him and Campbell. Womack edged out Campbell in the runoff, 49-51.<br>
<br>
Campaign contribution and expenditure reports filed with the Secretary of State's office show that Womack received a cumulative $38,330 throughout the duration of the campaign, from October 2007 to the end of 2008. Unsurprisingly, the largest reporting period by far was from April 1 to May 10, right before the judicial election that year: Womack received a total of $17,350 during that span, or about 45 percent of his total donations.<br>
<br>
However, unlike the other reporting periods for that election, there is no itemization of Womack's donations or expenditures for the April 1 to May 10 span. Normally, a contributions/expenditure report is seven or eight pages long, listing each contributor's name, mailing addresses, occupation and place of business, along with the amount given. For this reporting period, there's only a cover sheet listing total contributions and total expenditures.<br>
<br>
[pdf-1]<br>
I've asked Womack'
s campaign if he's aware that the document is incomplete, if he did indeed submit an itemized list for that month to the Secretary of State, and if he can provide a copy of the record. As with every question I've asked the Womack campaign, there has been no reply.<br>
<br>
Chris Powell, a spokesperson for the Secretary of State's office, said the electronic PDF versions of the records represent every campaign contribution document they have on file. That is, there aren't additional paper records.<br>
<br>
"Our folks will generally scan it in as it comes in," he said. "I think we’ve had this issue come up before, where there was a report for someone else that was just one page." The staff at the Secretary of State's office doesn't normally perform quality control checks to ensure that every filing is complete, he said, given the sheer volume of filings from hundreds of races every year. (Powell also noted that the 2008 filing would have occurred during a previous administration.)<br>
<br>
Graham Sloan, director of the <b>Arkansas Ethics Commission</b>, confirmed that "candidates are required to file reports of contributions and expenditures. You have to itemize contributions over $50 and expenditures over $100." <br>
<br>
"If there’s an incomplete filing there, the question is whether that’s how it was submitted … if that’s all that was filed, there could be a problem with failing to provide required information." But, he added, "it’s not uncommon or inconceivable that out of those thousands and thousands of filings, one gets lost or misplaced. ... We always advise people to keep an extra copy. The best evidence is a duplicate copy of it, that’s stamped ‘filed.’"<br>
<br>
"If your question is [whether] a candidate have a duty to replace a lost filing — the law doesn’t place any duty upon them," he said. "It places a duty upon them to file it in the first place." And the Ethics Commission is also unequipped to handle an audit or quality control measure to ensure contribution/expenditure reports are complete. "The Ethics Commission is the enforcement agency, and we have five people [on staff] … and tens of thousands of filings ... . Outside of the complaint process, there’s not any auditing of the reports."<br>
<br>
Could a complaint be filed in this case? No, Sloan said, because a filing from 2008 is outside the four-year statute of limitations. That means the only person who potentially could fill in the blanks in this particular campaign finance record is Shawn Womack.<br>
<br>
Womack faces Little Rock attorney <b>Clark Mason</b> in the judicial election on March 1.<br>
Arkansas CourtsArkansas ElectionsEthics
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Fri, 26 Feb 2016 06:26:00 -0600Arkansas TimesBlue Hog Report pursues judicial discipline complaint over Judge Dan Kemphttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/25/blue-hog-report-pursues-judicial-discipline-complaint-over-judge-kemps-non-recusal
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/25/blue-hog-report-pursues-judicial-discipline-complaint-over-judge-kemps-non-recusalBenjamin Hardy
<img src="https://media1.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4300813/kemp.jpg" width="250" height="250" style="display:block; float:right;" />
Matt Campbell, the attorney who runs the Blue Hog Report blog, has made a complaint to the <b>Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission</b> about <b>Circuit Judge Dan Kemp's</b> handling of a criminal case last year, and his campaign's recent statements regarding that case. <br>
<br>
Kemp is running for chief justice of the <b>Arkansas Supreme Court</b> against <b>Associate Justice Courtney Goodson</b> in a race that has attracted <a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/19/cumulative-spending-in-chief-justice-race-exceeds-1-million" target="_blank">unprecedented levels of spending</a> both by the candidates and by out-of-state groups seeking to influence the election.<br>
<br>
KATV's Marine Glisovic tweeted <a href="https://twitter.com/KATVMarine/status/702949343616040960" target="_blank">an image</a> of the JDDC complaint this afternoon — presumably supplied by Campbell — but the commission itself can't acknowledge its existence. Like complaints to the Ethics Commission, judicial discipline complaints aren't released until the JDDC announces an investigation, which would almost certainly be after next Tuesday's election. (Also, just for the sake of context: It's likely that the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission has received a number of such complaints this campaign season, since, well, it's campaign season.)<br>
<br>
Here's the basis of Campbell's complaint, followed by an explanation:<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
On November 28, 2015, Judge Kemp approved a guilty plea in exchange for dismissal of felony charges against Lea Ann Finn. Ms. Finn is the eldest daughter of Jim Hinkle of Mtn. View, who has been a close personal friend of Judge Kemp for "all [their] lives" according to Mr. Hinkle. Mr. Hinkle's other daughter, Katie Henry, and Judge Kemp's daughter, Erin Brogdon, are also close personal friends and have been for several years.<br>
<br>
Just over two weeks after that plea agreement, Mr. and Mrs. Hinkle each donated $2,500 to Judge Kemp's campaign for Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court. Ms. Finn's sister — Katie Henry — also donated $500 to Judge Kemp around this time. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Hinkle send out a mass email, asking people to donate to Judge Kemp's campaign and speaking out in support of Judge Kemp.<br>
<br>
On February 21, 2016, this appearance of impropriety regarding the timing of the contributions following the reduction in charges and guilty [pleas] was reported in a post on Blue Hog Report. In response, the Kemp campaign issued a statement, claiming that Ms. Finn was treated exactly the same as "any other first time drug offender." However, Ms. [Finn] pleaded guilty to several felony drug charges in Faulkner County in 2007 and was given 5 years' probation, a fact that Judge Kemp was well aware of according to someone close to the Hinkles.<br>
<br>
Judge Kemp's failure to recuse from a criminal case against the daughter of a close family friend appears to violate Rule 1.2 and Rule 2.11.<br>
<br>
Judge Kemp's issuance of a knowingly false or misleading statement in response to the Blue Hog Report Story appears to violate Rule 4.1(A)(11).
</blockquote>
<br>
<a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/22/blue-hog-report-smells-shenanigans-in-plea-agreement-political-contribution-to-kemp" target="_blank">On Sunday,</a> Campbell first raised the issue of Lea Ann Finn's case, which appeared in Kemp's court late last year. Given the possible appearance of impropriety, Kemp should have recused himself from this case, Campbell argued. <br>
<br>
The Kemp campaign issued a sharply worded rebuttal, saying in part, "The plea agreement in the referenced case is no different than thousands of other cases that involve first time offenders in Arkansas. ... Any accusation or suggestion that Judge Kemp arranged a favorable ruling in exchange for campaign support is categorically false, and reeks of dirty politics from his opponent’s campaign."<br>
<br>
Campbell <a href="http://www.bluehogreport.com/2016/02/24/impropriety-and-the-appearance-thereof-a-follow-up-on-judge-dan-kemp/" target="_blank">yesterday published a follow-up post at Blue Hog Report</a> clarifying why he believes Kemp should have recused — the fact the two families were so close "was more than sufficient to trigger reasonable questions about the judge’s impartiality in that matter" — but also seizing upon the statement from Kemp's campaign that Lea Ann Finn was a first-time offender. That's not the case, Campbell wrote:<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
You see, back in 2006, Ms. Finn (whose surname at the time was Walker) was arrested in Faulkner County and charged with Y-felony manufacture/possession/distribution of less than 28g of methamphetamine, B-felony manufacture/possession with intent to distribute counterfeit methamphetamine, C-felony possession/use of drug paraphernalia, DWI-1st (misdemeanor), refusal to submit to a chemical test, and careless and prohibited driving.<br>
<br>
On May 15, 2007, Ms. Finn entered a guilty plea on all of those charges, and Judge Mike Maggio imposed a sentence of five years’ probation, $2,950 in fines and costs, and 80 hours of community service.<br>
<br>
On July 6, 2007, Ms. Finn was charged with DWI and driving on a DWI-suspended license in Hot Spring County. On August 28, 2007, again in Hot Spring County, she was charged with DWI-2nd, driving on a DWI-suspended license, careless drive, and not wearing a seatbelt. The two Hot Spring County cases were tried at the same time on June 26, 2008, at which time the driving-on-suspended charges, as well as the careless and seatbelt charges were dismissed. The court also entered a docket notation to amend the DWI-2nd to DWI-1st because, according to the court, the Faulkner Co. DWI charge had not been recorded as guilty.
</blockquote>
<br>
Arkansas CourtsEthics
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Thu, 25 Feb 2016 16:13:00 -0600Arkansas TimesGovernor concerned over outside spending in judicial races, stops short of condemning partisan flavor of adshttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/24/governor-concerned-over-outside-spending-in-judicial-races-stops-short-of-condemning-partisan-flavor-of-ads
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/24/governor-concerned-over-outside-spending-in-judicial-races-stops-short-of-condemning-partisan-flavor-of-adsBenjamin Hardy
<img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4298762/_nkw9530_1000.jpg" width="600" height="400" />
<br>
Yesterday, I sought comment from <b>Gov. Asa Hutchinson's</b> office regarding the record-setting amounts of money that two out-of-state conservative groups have spent on <a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/23/outside-group-attacks-clark-mason-in-arkansas-supreme-court-race" target="_blank">attack ads</a> in <a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/22/television-ads-alone-in-supreme-court-races-now-top-1-million" target="_blank">both races</a> for <b>Arkansas Supreme Court. <br>
<br>
</b>I received a brief answer from the governor late in the day, through a spokesperson:<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
Our judicial races should not be typical political campaigns. I agree with the concern expressed by both Supreme Court candidates about the infusion of out-of-state special interest money in Arkansas judicial races.
</blockquote>
<br>
The response is appreciated, but the governor did not address all of the questions I posed. For one thing, judicial races in Arkansas are supposed to be strictly nonpartisan; candidates for Supreme Court are forbidden to run as Republicans or Democrats. And yet, one of the two groups funding these attacks is a 527 organization called the <b>Republican State Leadership Committee.</b><br>
<br>
The RSLC isn't affiliated with the <b>Republican Party of Arkansas</b>, as far as I know, but the group's name, and its <a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/20/out-of-state-organization-supporting-womack-attacking-mason-in-associate-justice-race-for-supreme-court" target="_blank">nakedly partisan attack flyer</a> in the associate justice race, certainly could give voters the impression that the GOP is endorsing <b>Shawn Womack</b> over <b>Clark Mason</b>. <br>
<br>
Hutchinson is the effective leader of the GOP in Arkansas. So, I asked, doesn't the name "Republican State Leadership Committee" give the impression the Republican Party of Arkansas is sanctioning these ads? Does the RSLC's involvement color these judicial races with the impression of a partisan endorsement? As the top Republican in the state, will Hutchinson condemn these ads? Can he offer any comment on the unprecedented levels of outside spending in the state Supreme Court races in general?<br>
<br>
The governor's response addresses the final question, but not the others.<br>
<br>
Max yesterday wrote in from afar to remind us that removing partisan affiliation from judicial races was itself once a Republican cause — but that was in the days in which the Republican Party faced an uphill climb in most parts of Arkansas. I'll just let Max speak for himself:<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
Remember that the Arkansas Republican Party campaigned to change the law so that judges no longer ran under party banners. Remove partisanship from the judiciary, they argued. Of course, they really did this to stop the flow of filing fees to the Democratic Party ... . Now that the state has turned, the GOP WANTS a GOP judiciary. To that end, people like Womack, Rhonda Wood and Mike Maggio — all buddies of political fixer Gilbert Baker, a former GOP senator, it's worth noting — have run essentially as Republicans by making the rounds of GOP committee meetings and publicly associating themselves with Republican political figures. One of the many laughable aspects of the Democrat-Gazette fact-free editorial endorsing Womack was its notion that Womack was no longer a politician. Its proof? His word. Funny for a guy designated to lobby the Republican legislature and the judicial pay commission on behalf of judges on account of his political clout.
</blockquote>
<br>
Arkansas CourtsArkansas ElectionsEthics
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5
Wed, 24 Feb 2016 16:50:00 -0600Arkansas TimesCumulative spending in chief justice race exceeds $1 millionhttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/19/cumulative-spending-in-chief-justice-race-exceeds-1-million
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/19/cumulative-spending-in-chief-justice-race-exceeds-1-millionBenjamin Hardy
<img src="https://media1.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4291458/carribbean.jpg" width="600" height="463" />
<br>
Figures compiled from state and federal records show that spending in the race for <b>chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court</b> is now in excess of $1 million. <br>
<br>
<b>Justice at Stake</b>, a national organization that monitors judicial election expenditures, yesterday announced that its analysis of Federal Communication Commission filings showed a conservative "dark money" group called the <b>Judicial Crisis Network </b>has bought at least $532,030 in television ad contracts attacking<b> Associate Justice Courtney Goodson.</b> <br>
<br>
That's as of yesterday morning; ad buys are ongoing, and the March 1 judicial election is still 11 days away. (<b>Circuit Judge Dan Kemp,</b> Goodson's opponent, <a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/18/kemp-condemns-outside-ads-attacking-his-opponent-on-voter-id-issue-in-supreme-court-race" target="_blank">has said he had no prior knowledge</a> of the JCN's interest in the race.)<br>
<br>
Meanwhile, the latest campaign finance reports filed with the Arkansas Secretary of State show that the Goodson and Kemp campaigns themselves have spent cumulative totals of $402,032 and $44,494, respectively, through January 31. <a href="https://www.arktimes.com/media/pdf/courtney_goodson_-_feb_report.pdf" target="_blank">Here's Goodson's report</a> on January spending. <a href="https://www.arktimes.com/media/pdf/dan_kemp_-_february_report.pdf" target="_blank">Here's Kemp's.</a> But those numbers don't include spending by the candidates since Feb. 1, when the campaign has kicked into higher gear. There's no doubt that the total spent on this race now tops $1 million.<br>
<br>
That's not all. We'll eventually find out how much Goodson and Kemp spent on the race when they file their final reports for the month of February (which aren't due until after the March 1 election). We won't ever find out how much the Judicial Crisis Network spent in total, because while FCC records give a picture of the outside group's broadcast communications (TV and radio), there's no equivalent paper trail for other types of advertising the group is purchasing: direct mail, advertising on the web, yard signs, newspaper ads, etc. <br>
<br>
We know for certain that the JCN has mounted <a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/16/new-dark-money-ads-attack-justice-goodson-for-supreme-courts-unanimous-decision-invalidating-arkansas-voter-id-law" target="_blank">a sizable direct mail campaign</a> — in fact, there's a new attack ad that's been making the rounds lately (see image above, sent in by a reader) — but the group isn't required to report how much it spends on such mailers.<br>
<br>
Why not? Because in the eyes of Arkansas election law, the JCN is merely educating voters and exercising its Constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech. It doesn't have to disclose anything to state election officials. The only reason we have <i>any</i> record of the Judicial Crisis Network's ad buys is thanks to federal telecommunications regulators. But because the FCC only monitors the airwaves (not mailers, etc), its records give an incomplete picture. We know for certain that the JCN has spent more than $532,030, but we can't tell just how much more.<br>
<br>
By the way, a 2015 bill by<b> Rep. Clarke Tucker </b>(D-Little Rock) would have begun to close this loophole by requiring purchase of such "electioneering communications" — that is, ads obviously intended to influence the outcome of an election but that don't explicitly say to vote for or against a candidate — to be disclosed. <a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/03/23/electioneering-advertising-bill-in-committee-this-afternoon" target="_blank">The bill was killed in committee.</a><br>
<br>
Here's yesterday's press release from Justice at Stake, which focuses on the TV ad buys in the chief justice contest. It notes that the estimated $798,000 spent on TV ads (as of yesterday morning) demolishes the previous TV spending record in the state, about $450,000 in a 2010 race.<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
TV Contracts Near $800,000<br>
<br>
Justice at Stake Contact: Laurie Kinney | lkinney@justiceatstake.org | 202-588-9454 | cell 571-882-3615<br>
Brennan Center for Justice Contact: Seth Hoy | Rebecca.autrey@nyu.edu | 646-292-8316<br>
<br>
WASHINGTON, DC, Feb.18, 2016 – With just under two weeks to go before Election Day on March 1, total spending on TV ad contracts in Arkansas’ Supreme Court race exceeds the state’s previous TV spending record by more than $300,000. According to an analysis of public FCC records by Justice at Stake and the Brennan Center for Justice, $798,315 has been spent on TV ads in the race so far. That breaks the previous record of $450,320 which was set in 2010, according to estimates by Kantar Media/CMAG. <br>
<br>
TV spending continues to be dominated by the conservative Judicial Crisis Network, which has booked at least $532,030 in ad contracts, according to FCC files. The JCN ads oppose Associate Justice Courtney Goodson, who is battling Circuit Judge Dan Kemp in a race for the Chief Justice seat.<br>
<br>
Justice Goodson’s campaign has booked TV ad contracts worth at least $237,080, while Judge Kemp’s campaign has booked contracts worth at least $29,205. Circuit Judge Shawn Womack and attorney Clark Mason are competing for another open seat on the court, and have not booked TV ad contracts to date. Ads may be viewed on the Brennan Center’s “Buying Time” website.<br>
<br>
Totals are current as of 8 a.m. CT, Feb. 18.<br>
<br>
The state record for outside spending in a Supreme Court race fell last week. That figure, which to-date is totally accounted for by JCN’s TV ads, now stands at $532,030. The previous record of $164,560 was recorded in 2014.<br>
<br>
“Arkansas is experiencing a record-smashing Supreme Court race, due in large part to spending by an outside group that doesn’t disclose its donors,” said Susan Liss, Executive Director of Justice at Stake, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that advocates for fair courts and tracks judicial election spending. “With the evidence growing that campaign spending has an impact on courtroom rulings, there’s an urgent need for real fixes that can get money and partisan politics out of judicial selection.”<br>
<br>
“It’s not surprising that both outside spending and total television spending are higher than ever before in Arkansas,” said Alicia Bannon, senior counsel in the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program and a co-author of Bankrolling the Bench, a comprehensive report on spending in the 2013-14 judicial elections by Justice at Stake, the Brennan Center for Justice, and the National Institute on Money in State Politics. “Money has become a big factor in judicial elections, especially funds from outside groups that don’t have to disclose donors. As election season continues, I won’t be surprised if records continue to fall around the country.”<br>
<br>
The JCN has been a major spender in state Supreme Court races nationwide for several years. According to The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2011-12, JCN was ninth on a list of the ten top spenders in judicial elections nationwide for the cycle. In the most recent election cycle, 2013-14, JCN gave $528,000 to groups that spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in Wisconsin and Tennessee.<br>
<br>
According to state disclosure forms, the candidates themselves have reported raising a total of $667,357, as follows: <br>
<br>
Kemp: $281,451<br>
<br>
Goodson: $221,155<br>
<br>
Mason: $67,836<br>
<br>
Womack: $96,915
</blockquote>
<br>
Arkansas ElectionsEthics
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8
Fri, 19 Feb 2016 10:32:00 -0600Arkansas TimesMatt Campbell asks court to review Ethics Commission decision in Milligan complainthttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/11/matt-campbell-asks-court-to-review-ethics-commission-decision-in-milligan-complaint
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/11/matt-campbell-asks-court-to-review-ethics-commission-decision-in-milligan-complaintBenjamin Hardy
<img src="https://media1.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4278406/web1_dennis-milligan_5.jpg" width="600" height="403" />
<b><br>
Matt Campbell,</b> the Little Rock attorney behind Blue Hog Report, yesterday filed a petition for judicial review of the <b>Arkansas Ethics Commission's</b> recent decision on the matter of state <b>Treasurer Dennis Milligan's</b> questionable campaign finance reports.<br>
<br>
Last week, Milligan paid a $400 fine to settle four violations of state ethics rules stemming from Campbell's complaint. The complaint, originally filed<a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/08/20/matt-campbell-files-ethics-complaint-against-dennis-milligan" target="_blank"> in August</a>, contained allegations of a number of additional ethics violations, including improper reporting of campaign contributions by Milligan. But in September, <a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/09/21/the-ethics-mulligan-is-now-in-use-in-arkansas" target="_blank">the Ethics Commission said</a> Milligan could raise an "affirmative defense" to these allegations based on a 2015 law allowing public officials a 30 day window to correct an "unintentional error" on a finance report once it's pointed out.<br>
<br>
The gist of Campbell's petition for judicial review: The provision that allowed Milligan to amend his reports was passed in 2015, but the reports in question were filed in 2014. The bill allowing public officials to claim an affirmative defense in the case of "unintentional errors" wasn't retroactive. <br>
<br>
Thus, Campbell says, the Ethics Commission shouldn't have applied the 2015 law to Milligan's situation. He's asking the Pulaski County Circuit Court to reverse the decision. <br>
<br>
[pdf-1]<br>
Aside from the retroactivity question, it can't be stated enough that the 2015 statute is an insult to the very idea of a meaningful ethics law, <a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/04/18/the-new-ethics-mulligan-is-no-joke-its-the-end-of-ethics-reform" target="_blank">as Max has said again and again</a>. When would a public official <i>not </i>claim a campaign finance was in error after being caught?<br>
Ethics
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2
Thu, 11 Feb 2016 06:24:00 -0600Arkansas TimesIn Supreme Court race, $336,000 in dark money advertising fuels attack on Goodson's 'insider' connectionshttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/09/in-supreme-court-race-336000-in-dark-money-advertising-fuels-attack-on-goodsons-insider-connections
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/09/in-supreme-court-race-336000-in-dark-money-advertising-fuels-attack-on-goodsons-insider-connectionsBenjamin Hardy
<img src="https://media1.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4275816/capture.jpg" width="600" height="336" />
<br>
And here it is. <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/analysis/Buying_Time/STSUPCT_AR_JUDICIALCRISIS_THE_INSIDER.mp4http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/05/outside-money-coming-to-supreme-court-race" target="_blank"><a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/05/outside-money-coming-to-supreme-court-race" target="_blank">Max noted last week</a></a> that a "dark money" group from DC, the <b>Judicial Crisis Network,</b> was purchasing TV ads in Arkansas that concerned the topic of "Gifts and campaign contributions accepted by Arkansas <b>Associate Supreme Court Justice Courtney Goodson</b>.” <br>
<br>
Goodson is running for chief justice of the state Supreme Court; she's opposed by Mountain View <b>Circuit Judge Dan Kemp. </b>(H/t to the Brennan Center for making this ad <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/analysis/Buying_Time/STSUPCT_AR_JUDICIALCRISIS_THE_INSIDER.mp4" target="_blank">available online.</a>)<br>
<br>
The ad, which is now airing in TV markets across the state, attacks Goodson for accepting campaign contributions from trial lawyer groups and an Italian yacht trip from a corporate contributor, something the <i>Times </i><a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/11/21/justice-goodson-getting-help-again-from-her-italian-yachting-companion" target="_blank">has written about before.</a> It also cites recent reporting in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette looking into Goodson's finances. "The Democrat-Gazette calls Courtney Goodson 'the ultimate insider,'" a male voice ominously intones. "Italian getaways, enriching trial lawyers — call Courtney Goodson and tell her to fight for Arkansans, not trial lawyers."<br>
<br>
Left unsaid thus far is the fact that Goodson's husband, <b>John Goodson</b>, is one of the state's <a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/12/22/federal-judge-wants-john-goodson-to-explain-class-action-maneuvering" target="_blank">most prominent class action attorneys </a>and a judicial campaign fundraising heavyweight. But with weeks before the March 1 judicial elections, it would be no surprise if that topic surfaces in a later ad.<br>
<br>
Justice at Stake, a campaign finance watchdog group that first noted the ad buys in the Arkansas Supreme Court race last week, initially said the Judicial Crisis Network had purchased about $77,000 worth of ads. Now, disclosures filed with the <b>Federal Communications Commission</b> show a much larger purchase: Around $336,000 in all. <br>
<br>
The JCN is a right-wing <b>501(c)4</b> based in Washington, D.C. Such "<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2013/05/13/what-is-a-501c4-anyway/" target="_blank">social welfare organization</a>s" are shells set up to allow wealthy donors to contribute to favored political causes anonymously. Dark money groups like the JCN are nothing more than faceless bank accounts that insert themselves into elections around the country to promote an ideological agenda. To give a sense of the JCN's politics, a former clerk for <b>U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas </b>runs the organization. The JCN <a href="https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2014/05/01/fec-questions-dark-money-fund-spending-in-arkansas-ag-race" target="_blank">went after Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge</a> in the 2014 Republican primary for being insufficiently conservative on gun issues, and it's previously gotten involved in state supreme court races in Michigan and North Carolina.<br>
<br>
Last week, Max noted the irony in all this. A dark money group, its donors shrouded by a loophole protecting supposed "social welfare" nonprofits, is spending boatloads of cash to launch attack ads criticizing Goodson's history of dubious financial backing.<br>
<br>
Goodson's campaign released a statement on the ads. <br>
<br>
<blockquote>
Dan Kemp and his political allies are sinking over a half million dollars into a coordinated effort to silence me. His Washington insiders — with secret donors and a secret agenda — are running these ads. If Dan Kemp lacks the integrity to stop them, its a sign to every secret interest group in the country that Arkansas’ courts are for sale. Outside groups are not welcome in this race, and Dan Kemp should stop using dark money to buy a seat on our Supreme Court.<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
She's not the insider — Kemp is the insider! She's not putting up the courts for sale — he's putting up the courts for sale!<br>
<br>
Kemp's campaign, meanwhile, denied having any connection with the ads, of course. That's because dark money groups can't coordinate with the candidates they support without running afoul of election law. Talk Business has <a href="http://talkbusiness.net/2016/02/notes-from-the-campaign-trail-dark-money-stirs-accusations-in-supreme-court-chief-justice-race/" target="_blank">this unapologetic statement</a> from his campaign:<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
First, we have been focused on running our own race and running our own ads that are up on TV today. We are holding meet-and-greets all across this state raising money, meeting voters, and building support. Second, we’ve never met with anyone from the Judicial Crisis Network. The response is a soundbite that one of Ms. Goodson’s many political consultants and supporters who reside outside of the state of Arkansas have told her to say in order to distract voters from the truth. If Ms. Goodson has a problem with the facts of the ad, she needs to take that up with the Judicial Crisis Network.
</blockquote>
<br>
Note that familiar, ridiculous language at the end of Goodson ad: "Call Courtney Goodson and tell her blah blah blah." By the twisted rules of campaign finance, that means this ad isn't engaging in "express advocacy" (that is, telling voters who to support in the Supreme Court race). No advocacy here — it's only educating the public.<br>
Arkansas PoliticsEthics
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Tue, 09 Feb 2016 10:43:00 -0600Arkansas TimesFormer AG Dustin McDaniel registers as Arkansas lobbyist, becomes DC attorneyhttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/08/former-ag-dustin-mcdaniel-registers-as-arkansas-lobbyist-becomes-dc-attorney
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/02/08/former-ag-dustin-mcdaniel-registers-as-arkansas-lobbyist-becomes-dc-attorneyBenjamin Hardy
<img src="https://media1.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4274919/dustin_mcdaniel_3470.jpg" width="600" height="399" />
<b><br>
Dustin McDaniel,</b> the former Arkansas attorney general and erstwhile Democratic gubernatorial candidate, announced today that his private practice of <b>McDaniel, Richardson and Calhoun, PLLC </b>is registering with the Arkansas Ethics Commission<b> </b>as a lobbying firm <b>.</b><br>
<br>
McDaniel was also sworn in as a member of the bar of the District of Columbia today, meaning he can now practice law in Washington. <br>
<br>
"Today [McDaniel's] practice expands both to the District of Columbia and to a policy advocacy practice in his home state of Arkansas," the release states. It also notes the one-year "cooling off period" preventing elected officials from immediately transitioning from public office to the lobbying world:<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
The Attorney General is prohibited by law from representing clients in a lobbyist capacity in the state of Arkansas for one year from the time he or she leaves office. The same ban applied to Scott Richardson and Bart Calhoun, firm partners and former Assistant Attorneys General. That time has now expired.
</blockquote>
<br>
McDaniel's last day as AG was January 13, 2015. That means he waited a little more than three weeks after the period expired before becoming a lobbyist.<br>
<br>
The release says the registration form filed with the Ethics Commission lists the following as early clients:<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
AT&T, Acxiom, XCaliber Tobacco International, Inc., Facebook, Jacksonville/North Pulaski School District, ADT, Inc., Cigna Insurance, Yelp, Capital Car Service, LLC, and Calhoun Farms.
</blockquote>
<br>
Perhaps this McDaniel quote from the release is also worth noting:<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
"With the Arkansas Legislature's Fiscal Session approaching, we know many issues will need immediate attention."
</blockquote>
<br>
[pdf-1]<br>
In other news, Democratic and Republican party officials around the country remain baffled at the totally inexplicable anti-establishment sentiment of voters this election cycle.<br>
Ethics
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Mon, 08 Feb 2016 15:20:00 -0600Arkansas TimesEthics Commission to hold hearing on 22 potential violations by Dennis Milliganhttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/01/13/ethics-commission-to-hold-hearing-on-22-potential-violations-by-dennis-milligan
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/01/13/ethics-commission-to-hold-hearing-on-22-potential-violations-by-dennis-milliganMax Brantley
<img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4237837/imgres.jpg" width="274" height="184" />
<b><br>
Blue Hog Report </b><a href="http://www.bluehogreport.com/2016/01/13/ethics-commission-to-hold-probable-cause-hearing-on-dennis-milligan/" target="_blank">has potentially good news</a> on the <b>ethic</b>s front.<br>
<br>
He has received notice that the<b> Ethics Commission</b> will hold hearings on whether there's probable cause to believe <b>Treasurer Dennis Milligan </b>had committed multiple ethics violations. The significant thing is that the Commission declined to use a new "safe harbor" provision of the ethics law by which legislators and public officials can claim mistakes and correct them when brought to their attention without ethical penalty.<br>
<br>
But the Ethics Commission is not allowing that defense for Milligan in a number of complaints made against Milligan by Matt Campbell, a Little Rock lawyer who writes Blue Hog Report. Specifically:<br>
<br>
* Did Milligan violate state law by hiring two spouses of legislators — the husband of Rep. Nelda Speaks and wife of Sen. Alan Clark — without prior legislative approval?<br>
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* Did he offer jobs to people in return for campaign support and did he extend special privileges to employees of his when he was Saline circuit clerk so they'd work on his treasurer's campaign?<br>
<br>
* Did he use his Saline county public offices or equipment for campaign purposes?<br>
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* Did he properly repeat campaign expenses and in-kind contributions, including from current state employee Gary Underwood? Such questions touch, too, on unreported campaign work done for him by current employees Grant Wallace and Jason Brady while they were working for a political lobby.<br>
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* Did he improperly fail to report Facebook advertising placed by Jason Brady.<br>
<br>
The hearing will be Jan. 22. The good news is that the "safe harbor" law apparently will not mean an automatic way around all ethics violations, if the Commission forges ahead with an adverse finding. It also continued attention to the long list of administrative and ethical miscues that have marked Milligan since he began running for the office.<br>
<br>
Blue Hog wrote:<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
You may recall that Milligan attempted to avail himself of the new safe-harbor self-reporting provision of the ethics rules after the complaint was filed. You might also recall–perhaps with a good deal of retrospective humor–that Milligan and his attorney claimed that, as a result of the safe-harbor provision, the Commission would not investigate the bulk of the allegations against Milligan. This was incorrect; the Ethics Commission found that affirmative defense applicable only to six of the 28 allegations contained in the original complaint.
</blockquote>
<br>
Arkansas PoliticsEthics
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Wed, 13 Jan 2016 12:24:00 -0600Arkansas TimesEthics Commission gets Milligan staffers' e-mails from former employerhttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/12/10/ethics-commission-gets-milligan-staffers-e-mails-from-former-employer
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/12/10/ethics-commission-gets-milligan-staffers-e-mails-from-former-employerMax Brantley
<b>The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network</b>, a nonprofit lobby organization, has released to the Ethics Commission and others e-mail written by former employees on the organization's work e-mail who were also helping the election campaign of now-Treasurer <b>Dennis Milligan</b>.<br>
<br>
In theory, Cancer Society workers weren't supposed to be politicking. An ethics complaint has been filed about unreported campaign work by Milligan staffer <b>Jason Brady</b>. He and <b>Grant Wallace</b>, another Milligan staffer, worked for the cancer agency. They and Milligan have disputed or downplayed the allegation of improprieties.<br>
<br>
Stu Soffer, a Jefferson County Republican who's been pressing ethics and other criticism of Milligan, had filed a complaint with the IRS over political activities by employees of the nonprofit. He has dropped the complaint because the organization provided their work e-mails.<br>
<br>
In reporting the resolution, <a href="http://arkansasnews.com/news/arkansas/irs-complaint-dropped-after-nonprofit-releases-milligan-staffer-s-emails?platform=hootsuite" target="_blank">John Lyon of the Arkansas News Bureau said</a> the cancer group had turned over 246 e-mails by Brady and Wallace. They'll go to the Ethics Commission and also to a former treasurer's office employee, David Singer, who is suing Milligan.<br>
<br>
Milligan's tenure has been marked by employee disputes, an illegal hire, spending on an education program that is not part of the office's mention and other controversy. He had vowed to clean up the office after Martha Shoffner, convicted of taking bribes for state securities business.<br>
Arkansas PoliticsEthics
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6
Thu, 10 Dec 2015 21:07:00 -0600Arkansas TimesTyson names Mike Beebe to board of directors, a post worth $200,000+ a yearhttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/12/09/tyson-names-mike-beebe-to-board-of-directors-a-post-worth-200000
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/12/09/tyson-names-mike-beebe-to-board-of-directors-a-post-worth-200000Max Brantley
<img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4200382/1294345873-beebeandtyson.jpg" width="600" height="421" />
<b><br>
Tyson Foods,</b> the giant poultry and meat producer based in Arkansas, has named former<b> Gov. Mike Beebe</b> to its board of directors, a position that can be worth more than $200,000 a year. From the company:<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
Beebe, 68, was appointed this week and becomes one of eight independent directors on the ten-member Tyson Foods board. He was governor of Arkansas from 2007 to 2015, served as the state’s attorney general from 2003 to 2007 and was a state senator from 1983 to 2003.<br>
<br>
“Governor Beebe’s extensive leadership experience, ability to collaborate and his long-time support and understanding of business are among the reasons he was recommended by our nominating committee,” said Chairman of the Board of Directors for Tyson Foods, John Tyson. “We believe his skills will benefit Tyson Foods as we continue to grow and become an even better company.”<br>
<br>
“Our goal is for the Tyson board to have the right balance of skill sets and experience and we’re confident Governor Beebe will be an excellent addition to what is already a strong and diverse board,” said Robert Thurber, chair of the board’s governance and nominating committee.<br>
<br>
“I'm honored to be appointed and look forward to working with the leadership at Tyson Foods, a great company that provides so much to so many,” said Beebe.<br>
<br>
Since leaving office, Beebe joined the Governors’ Council for the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., serves as an advisor to Arkansas State University and is of counsel to the Roberts Law Firm in Little Rock.<br>
<br>
Beebe received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Arkansas State University and earned his law degree from the University of Arkansas. He was involved in private law practice for 30 years and previously served on the board of trustees at Arkansas State University.<br>
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In addition to Beebe, Thurber and Chairman John Tyson, other members of the Tyson Foods board of directors currently are Gaurdie E. Banister Jr.; Mikel A. Durham; Jim Kever; Kevin M. McNamara; Brad T. Sauer; Tyson Foods President and CEO Donnie Smith; and Barbara A. Tyson.
</blockquote>
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Independent? Technically speaking, I guess. Beebe drew his chief of staff, Morril Harriman, away from a poultry lobbying job and has long been friendly with the Tysons, generally supportive of Democratic candidates but also pragmatic.<br>
<br>
The job comes with money. In fiscal 2014, according to the most recent Tyson proxy available, an independent director was entitled to a minimum retainer of $80,000, but some received as much as $130,000 from additional pay as chair of board committees. Plus, each independent director received $125,000 in stock awards. This put total compensation for the independent directors from $210,000 to $236,000 in fiscal 2014. <br>
<br>
Between this and state retirement pegged to three decades of service tabulated on his last three highest years of pay, as governor, Beebe should be able to scrape together a cart rental fee out at the Tyson's private Blessings Golf Course. Maybe even buy a round of drinks with his additional Social Security check. I don't know if the Tyson yacht is available to directors. That may only be reserved for members of the Arkansas Supreme Court such as Courtney Goodson, and her husband, John Goodson, the UA trustee and court's puppeteer.<br>
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Beebe issued a statement that praised Tyson as a "a great company that provides so much to so many." Uh huh.<br>
<br>
PS: The prohibition on lobbying for two years after leaving elective office applies only to legislators. <br>
<br>
PPS: State retirement pay is kept confidential. But you can roughly figure Beebe's benefits, the state retirement agency said, by giving him 40 years credit of legislative service (they enjoyed a double multiplier); 20 years as attorney general, which got a 2.5 multiplier, and 24 as governor, which gets a triple multiplier. 84 years of service times an average final pay around $80,000 or so (his three years of highest pay) and using the benefit calculator percentage around 1.7 percent, you'd get a monthly benefit of $11,000 to $12,000. <br>
Arkansas PoliticsEthics
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Wed, 09 Dec 2015 16:01:00 -0600Arkansas TimesMore complaints filed against Treasurer Dennis Milliganhttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/10/10/more-complaints-filed-against-treasurer-dennis-milligan
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/10/10/more-complaints-filed-against-treasurer-dennis-milliganMax Brantley
<img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4116938/imgres.jpg" width="250" height="168" style="display:block; float:right;" />
<b>Stu Soffer,</b> a Pine Bluff Republican, continues to press his campaign for action against<b> Treasurer Dennis Milligan </b>on his complaints that Milligan violated ethics rules in his political campaigns.<br>
<br>
Soffer sent me and others yesterday his complaint to the state Ethics Commission that a campaign worker, Jason Brady then a lobbyist for the American Cancer Society Cancer Network and now a top aide to Milligan, did off-the-books work for the Milligan campaign. A separate complaint to federal tax authorities alleges Brady, working for a nonprofit, did political activity on the nonprofit's time.<br>
<br>
An ethics complaint is already pending against Milligan over campaign activities in an earlier race for circuit clerk in Saline County.<br>
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<a href="http://arkansasnews.com/news/arkansas/ethics-complaint-filed-against-treasurer-s-office-employee" target="_blank">John Lyon of the Arkansas News Bureau</a> summarizes.<br>
<br>
[pdf-1]<br>
[pdf-2]<br>
Arkansas PoliticsEthics
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Sat, 10 Oct 2015 07:20:00 -0500Arkansas TimesEthics complaint against Treasurer Dennis Millligan rounds up 14 separate allegationshttps://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/08/21/ethics-complaint-against-treasurer-dennis-millligan-rounds-up-14-separate-allegations
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/08/21/ethics-complaint-against-treasurer-dennis-millligan-rounds-up-14-separate-allegationsBenjamin Hardy
<img src="https://media2.fdncms.com/arktimes/imager/u/blog/4034359/web1_dennis-milligan_5.jpg" width="600" height="403" />
<br>
Matt Campbell's ethics complaint filed yesterday against Arkansas state <b>Treasurer Dennis Milligan </b>runs to 113 pages of exhibits — mostly email correspondence between Milligan staffers — that make the case for 14 separate allegations of impropriety against Milligan during and after his time running for state office.<br>
<br>
<b>UPDATE, 8/28/15: </b>Campbell later filed an amended version of the complaint that removed statements concerning the Arkansas Press Association and its marketing director, Ashley Wimberley.<br>
[pdf-2]
<br>
Campbell's complaint details many of the long, long list of unsavory and inappropriate actions taken by Milligan that have emerged over the past eight months, with quite a bit of never-before-released material thrown in the mix.<br>
<br>
There's the episode in which his aide, <b>Jason Brady,</b> was found to have performed campaign work <a href="http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/06/08/cancer-society-rejects-contributions-from-milligan-over-campaign-work-by-their-employees" target="_blank">while clocked in as an employee of the American Cancer Society</a>. There are t<a href="http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/06/01/milligan-moving-to-correct-campaign-filings" target="_blank">he campaign finance reporting improprieties</a> Milligan has tried to quietly make go away — with a connection to a bigger fish. Among the allegations listed:<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
Once Mr. Milligan became an Arkansas Constitutional Officer and campaign emails about the violations became public knowledge, Mr. Milligan conspired to cover them up with the filing of 14 deceitful amended campaign finance reports after he had his campaign manager direct a vendor to destroy evidence of campaign reporting violations and payments to him. These amended reports also intentionally omitted the name of Mr. Milligan's campaign treasurer and also of honorary campaign chairman Mike Huckabee.<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
At the center of it all is a pattern of unabashed nepotism. The first allegation states, "Mr. Milligan knowingly and illegally hired the spouses of two state representatives without required approvals and without any basis for his opinion of the legality of the hires."<br>
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The spouses in question are those of<b> Sen. Alan Clark</b> (R-Hot Springs) an<b>d Rep. Nelda Speaks</b> (R-Mountain Home). The complaint states later that "both were hired as Treasurer's Assistant IV, Ms. Clark at $63.239.90 per year and Mr. Speaks at $52,000 per year." <br>
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It then cites the Arkansas statute prohibiting spouses of persons elected to constitutional office — which includes members of the General Assembly — from holding employment with a state agency without prior legislative and gubernatorial approval.<br>
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In a second allegation, Campbell states that "Mr. Milligan made promises of employment in exchange for campaign work to more than seven individuals, one of which was promised in an effort to avoid a perceived sexual harassment complaint against his chief of staff before the election. After becoming Treasurer, Mr. Milligan wrongfully obtained a waiver from the State Finance Board to keep his illegal pre-election employment promises."<br>
<br>
Among the exhibits attached is an email from Jason Brady to Milligan before the election, with Jim Harris copied. (Harris, who is now the treasurer's chief of staff, <a href="http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/04/30/emails-reveal-friction-between-milligan-staffers" target="_blank">is a sideshow unto himself in this circus</a>):<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
Sir: I don't want to get the horse before the cart ... but it might be helpful if you take a few minutes today and draw up a list of individuals you can share of those whom you "have" an obligation to offer a future job to [sic] in the state Treasurer's office ... and of those whom you think "might think" they have a commitment from you to be hired.
</blockquote>
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Evidently, the email was sent on Nov. 3, 2014 (at one point, Brady writes "God willing, you win tomorrow night as I expect and pray"). <br>
<br>
And on and on.<br>
Ethics
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Fri, 21 Aug 2015 09:35:00 -0500Arkansas Times